Bhupendra Patel's Cabinet: 1 Woman, 7 OBCs; Hardik, Alpesh Fail to Make the Cut

Video Producer: Mayank Chawla

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam

In an extravagant event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 200 seers in attendance, Bhupendra Patel took oath as the chief minister of Gujarat on Monday, 12 December, after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a historic 156 seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections.

Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, and several chief ministers and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states were also present.

Along with Patel, 16 other MLAs also took oath as cabinet ministers.

Here's a look at the ceremony and key highlights of the new cabinet.

Who all were in attendance?

Along with PM Modi, Home Minister Shah, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP chief JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Gujarat BJP leader Vajubhai Vala, and Karnataka BJP leader BL Santosh were also present.

Over 200 saints from Gujarat were also present at the event to bless Patel and his newly formed cabinet.

Who all were made ministers?

Here's the full list of ministers:

Cabinet Ministers:

• Kanu Desai

• Rishikesh Patel

• Raghvji Patel

• Balvantsinh Rajput

• Kunvarji Bavaliya

• Mulu Bera

• Kuber Dindor

• Bhanuben Babariya

Ministers of State:

• Harsh Sanghvi

• Jagdish Vishwakarma

• Parshottam Solanki

• Bachu Khabad

• Mukesh Patel

• Praful Pansheriya

• Kuverji Halpati

• Bhikhusinh Parmar

Key Highlights of the New Cabinet:

• The cabinet consists of four Patidars, seven OBCs, two from the Scheduled Tribe Community, and one each from the Brahmin, Jain, Rajput, and Scheduled Caste communities.

• Bhanuben Babariya, a third-time MLA from the Rajkot Rural seat, is the only woman in the cabinet so far.

• Hardik Patel, one of the tallest leaders of the Patidar movement ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls, did not make it to the cabinet. Alpesh Thakor, one of the leaders behind the OBC protests in 2017, also failed to make the cut.

• The cabinet also includes first-time MLA Bhikhusinh Parmar, an OBC candidate from the Modasa constituency.

• Kunwarji Bavaliya, who joined the BJP in 2018, was a minister in the second Vijay Rupani cabinet. He was kept away from the from the first Bhupendra Patel cabinet, but has been included in the new cabinet.

Glimpses of the Ceremony